Four former Twitter executives filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk on Monday, alleging that the billionaire owes them a combined $128 million in severance for firing them during his takeover of the social media company in 2022.
The four plaintiffs—former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, former CFO Ned Segal, former chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, and former general counsel Sean Edgett—claim that Musk cited non-existent instances of “negligence and willful misconduct” to avoid paying them severance.
All four executives had clauses in their contracts entitling them to a payout of one year’s salary plus unvested stock awards, giving them each a “golden parachute” amounting to tens of millions of dollars.
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When Musk took the company private after his contentious acquisition in October 2022, he insisted that he was firing Agrawal, Gadde, Segal, and Edgett “for cause,” thereby saving himself more than $200 million. He later told biographer Walter Isaacson that he planned to “hunt them till the day they die.”
“This is the Musk playbook: to keep the money he owes other people, and force them to sue him,” the group alleged in the suit filed in a California federal court on Monday. “Even in defeat, Musk can impose delay, hassle, and expense on others less able to afford it.”
Per the Wall Street Journal, Agrawal is seeking $57.4 million in benefits, Segal $44.5 million, Gadde $20 million, and Edgett $6.8 million. These amounts are based on previous salary and Twitter’s share price at the time of Musk’s acquisition.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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